Internationalization's Effect on Mobility and Firms' Employee-Based Resources

Though human and relational capital are vital to the success of firms, little research exists on the dynamics of how these resources change in response to firms’ growth. We consider knowledge workers and the case of internationally expanding firms specifically, and we argue that focal firm employee-based resources shift as a result of internationalization. We theorize that increased mobility of employees drives these changes. By highlighting the central role mobility plays in firms as they expand, we provide opportunities to explore new research questions that would help increase our understanding of this bidirectional strategy-resource relationship—not only that resources drive strategy but also that resources change in association with strategy implementation. We thus encourage a new perspective on unintentional impacts on resource heterogeneity between firms that originate from their organizational shifts in scope, scale, and strategies.